manager

assistant store manager

gérant

store manager

sales associate

Claires

Where do I start? 
The only reason assistant managers make $22/hour is because the company believes that amount will keep people around.
Not only do you deal with little kids and teens, but you have to deal with the immaturity of staff.
You get a "manager" who has no idea how to manage. She brags constantly about how great she is, and how great her staff are, but in reality she hasn't got a clue how to be a manager. The only reason she has the job is because the district manager, the regional district manager and herself worked together at a previous company for years together.
She doesn't know how to schedule at all. And, I mean at all. After being with the company for 6 years and being this great manager, she should be able to do a schedule in her sleep.
She refuses to discipline staff, and let them do whatever they choose. 
She allows certain staff to be late, and PAYS them for it. Certain staff disappear for 15 minutes before their break, and then go for their break, like nothing happens. This particular staff member snuck out of the store for at least 30 minutes, without telling anyone, and NOTHING happened!! She is consistently late for work, but she seems to be the favorite.
The manager can't figure out technical issues. The perfect example, our till went down....."it has no power" she says, it's dead. Don't touch it. After I go through power cords and such, I follow the cord to the outlet.....IT'S NOT PLUGGED IN!!!!!! She spent 4 hours telling everyone it was dead, no power, but I found the issue in 30 minutes.....after being told not to worry about, worry about sales.
The store is disgustingly dirty. The microwave provided to us, hasn't been cleaned EVER. It sits on a filing cabinet in which paper towel is permanently stuck from spills and just plain laziness.
The toilet had feces on the rim and down the side of the toilet bowl, and has never been cleaned.

The training sucks. Got questioned by the manager as to why I didn't know how to receive freight...."I've never worked a day in which freight came in, so it's rather hard to learn, due to your perfect scheduling."

It's a JOKE. Staff sit in the chair at the front "greeting" customers. They pout when you make them follow any direction you give them. You might as well give the job to the 3-15 year olds that come in, they would probably do a better job.

Literally words my manager said when I voiced concerns with company practices. Claire's runs on the very very bare minimum of labour, forcing staff to often work alone for hours at a time, even during peak traffic (ie. after school/evening hours, even during March Break). Staff have to help customers, put out stock, process transactions, try to prevent theft and pierce ears while working all by themselves. Staffing hours are cut while there is a never ending stream of stock arriving weekly; putting it out is near impossible and the store always seems to be empty or a mess. Merch changes (literally moving entire walls) are allocated as little as 2 people for 4 hours. Some staff secretly come in early and stay late without pay to accomplish the massive task load (going over hours is unacceptable even if it is required to do your job properly). The company pierces ears on clients as young as 2/3months and it can be very stressful/morally concerning; clients can even pass out while you're alone in a store full of customers. Employees close alone which is a dangerous practice that is asking for trouble. Staff are required to wear a minimum of 5 accessories each shift and the company allows them to borrow products from the shelves (excluding earrings, cosmetics and body jewellery) and put them back on the salesfloor to sell afterwards. There is an abundant amount of physical paperwork and KPI assessment that takes up time best used for customers or other operations, all of which could be done with investment in efficient computer programs. Training is not efficient (mostly reading policies that are irrelevant to store staff); when you ask for more training, you will likely be told there isn't hours and that you will need to learn as you go. Management are wonderful people, but carrying large workloads; staff often receive schedules a day or two before the week starts, making it difficult to have a work/life balance or plan ahead. I loved my staff and was paid a decent wage for my skill set, but ultimately couldn't continue to burn out. Not a job for the faint of heart.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The customers are the best part of working for Claire's. They are there to have fun for the most part and when you work there, you can be a part of their experience and make it a lasting one.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Having an unrealistic amount of things to do  in a short amount of time makes the job stressful, plus then everyone working there is stressed out and it makes it tougher to remain cheerful and to give the customers the attention they deserve.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment is hectic and you're by yourself a lot so it puts pressure on the employees and the customers see it. They don't put enough people on for the workload and they don't give assistant manager's full time hours to help do the job or to live on. They have employee appreciation weeks but the employees don't benefit at all. There's no bonus or prize or extra discount so what's the point? Plus, when the manager doesn't care about you at all and finds fault with all you do, etc., you feel unappreciated and belittled and you fight to keep your spirit.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
You're by yourself for a couple or few hours then you get a helper but it's so busy generally that it's tough to pass on the stats/info that you need to before your one break of the day (no "coffee breaks") and the team members are stressed from the workload, especially with trying to ear pierce and nose pierce and manage the till and do the tasks and help the customers and keep the store clean. When the manager is there, she tries to micro-manage and doesn't care about what you are doing right, only what she thinks you are doing wrong. She is so stressed that she takes it out on you and doesn't listen to you or care about you.

It’s actually a horrible place to work. Unless you're in the Vaughnmills location. I’ve been to 3 stores and the only one that is actually worth mentioning is the Vaughnmills location. Vaughn’s location has an AMAZING manager, and work staff. If you’re going to apply to a claires store then go to Vaughnmills.

The store I started off with is in the hillcrest location. The Manager is a joke. Unless your one of her “friends “ you’re going to get yelled at for literally everything. It’s almost like she’s bi-polar. On top of that, if you are her “ friend” then your work load is literally just selling. Where as if your not her “friend “ then your work load in a single 3 hour shift is as follows :
Clean back room
Organize/put away shipment and overstock
Dust and wipe all fixtures
Restock ear piercing unit
Sell and recovery ( picking up the items customers leave around)
Complete a 20 page markdown list 
Complete planagram

These are but a few of the tasks the manager will assign someone she’s not friends with. And if you don’t complete these tasks by the end of shift, then be prepared to get yelled at, and to have to complete the unfinished ones, as well as other tasks on your next shift.

The other store Ive worked at was at Promandade. The store is extremely slow customer based wise, and as for the staff, they’re a joke. There’s literally almost no training for this store, and when you tell that stores manager that the previous employee you worked with didn’t train you then the manager gets mad at you saying that “ you’re talking mill of my employees, why would you say something that’s not true?” 

Honestly don’t work for the company unless your a part time student that needs the cash

At Claire's I currently only am asking for one-two shifts a week throughout my summer vacation just so that I can keep the job for when I return back for school in the fall. When I do come into work I am usually opening, which means I make sure all merchandise is kept, and then see if the floors have been vacuumed from the night before, if neither of these are done I try my best to fit time in before opening. Usually I come into work a half of an hour early just in case of this. Then after turning the lights on, I count the tills and make sure the float is in both, then open cash registers, and then go into the daily readings and print each off then put them into the "daily communication binder" after that is all done and when it's time to open the store I first turn on the music, put signs out and open up the doors.

Throughout the day I first check to see if there are any tasks that are needed to be done for that day if it is mark downs, or putting new merchandise out, or planogramme I try my best to get as much of that done depending on how busy it is throughout the day. I also pierce ears when customers come in for that. Other then that I strive to help with customers find what they are looking for.

At night when closing, I put garbage out, bring signs in, shut and lock doors before anything else. Turn music off, vacuum and replenish store (usually I try to keep up with the merchandise throughout the day if not use the last hour or half hour of work to maintain that). Then after that is all done, I could the tills, and do paperwork then put in the bank deposit.

I was going through other reviews which most seemed pretty negative, and I feel extremely lucky to have worked at an amazing location with great management. My manager always ensured that everyone was fully and properly trained. Ear piercing training took about 2 weeks to fully complete. She always made sure that everybody was fully aware of any news, changes and/or new procedures. She did her best to ensure everyone recieved the amount of hours they wanted (I'm currently a student and she was always able to accommodate my schedule. She was also very understanding if I needed any time off). It was an extremely fun and positive environment to work in. When you first start working at Claire's it does seem like there is a lot to take in and learn, but I found the workload became way easier after about the first week. I was able to work with amazing, caring staff as well as interact and build relationships with all sorts of different customers. I really enjoyed being able to wear their products during shifts, it made the experience way more fun. I unfortunately had to recently resign after almost 4 years of being there due to moving, but I have to say it was one of the most positive job experiences I've ever had. I definitely made great memories with Claire's as their slogan says.

Claire's was a whole new spectrum in terms of a retail job: It required patience, accuracy, punctuality, great charisma and a positive environment. As a keyholder, it held many responsibilities as far as dealing with an entirely new demographic (children, mothers and fathers) to making sales peak as highest as they could in the location to being certified to pierce children. The workplace was always positive, and gave you a sense of calmness when you arrived. There was rarely ever a harsh moment with customers, and any mishappenings that did occur was fixed within 5 minutes. The workplace system was adaptable and relatively smooth, and I budgeting paper work at night and throughout morning opening shifts became easy as cake (I give credit to my previous manager who was patient, happy and optimistic). It also did have it's strict policies that kept co-workers in line and try their hardest to achieve sales goals. Co-workers were always happy arriving, and always happy leaving. Alongside, I had learned to fully understand how sales techniques work, which ones do not, and how to fully engage myself with a customer to show that their not just a "customer", but someone just like I who wants to find that special item for themselves or someone else. It was truly a wonderful experience, and lightened my eyes towards future retail positions to come.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best park of working at Claire’s was leaving at the end of the day. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Christmas shifts. There’s so many people and constant floor plan changes, and you can’t have even a moment of rest between attending a line out the door, piercing ears, and watching for shoplifters. Not to mention how catty your coworkers will be when it comes to meeting their quotas. Get comfortable confronting them, because they WILL steal your sales. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Awful. Everyone talks badly about each other and no one wants to be there. One of my coworkers just left to go shopping in the middle of a busy evening shift, and then was mad at me when I reported her to the manager because I didn’t feel comfortable managing the store alone. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Coming in early and sitting on the dirty floor in the back, because there was no break room, and then clocking in at the front. I then proceed to have to stand at the piercing station the whole shift having to explain to customers that no, you can’t bring your own earrings in to be pierced with and no, I can’t pierce your child’s ears if they don’t want to, even if you hold them down. I then get to clock out and collapse onto my bed.

Call 1800 Claire's to apparently fix any problems you may have as an employee. The harsh truth is the " representatives " at Claire's are trash fam! You can call 6am or 11pm and still get the pre recorded message. You have to leave a name and number to get someone to assist you which can take days for weeks b/c they are helping other people on other lines..yeah right! When I was reached after 4 days the women in the other line was rude and unprofessional. She just called to confirm that I had a valid question, even after leaving a message about the situation haha. I was then transferred the next day to someone who should have been the one to call me back in the first place instead of the rude women. As an employee I would like to feel like a priority. If only my manager knew how to be a manager I wouldn't have to go threw this every time! btw the hours are horrible they make sure that managers get 30-40 hours a week while other employees who need to pay bills as well get as little as 8-14 hours a week. My manager said  it's the company's fault they could care less about anyone who is not a Manager or Assistant manger, thanks that means a lot!

This is the worst retail store to work at from top to bottom. The employees were fine but the management is the worst I have ever seen. The store manager was constantly insulting employees in front of customers or yelling at them. Employees were left in tears several times. She had no concept of management or getting along with others: constantly coming in late without notice, forgetting to open the store, leaving without telling anyone, and constantly fighting with customers. Customers always complained about her but she refused to give them a customer service phone number or talk to them over the phone when they called the store. We were forced to do ear piercings, even when kids were crying and screaming they didn’t want them. Sometimes we had to forcefully hold them to the chair to complete the piercing. The DM did nothing to address the problem, neither did anyone else I spoke to in HR. I asked if it was possible to have days off during a busy time of year to attend to a family emergency as well as if I could change my availability and the store manager became outraged as I had not mentioned this during my interview and said “I guess this is your resignation” and hung up the phone. I did not go back to work after this.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Manager 94 salaries reported	$17.95 per hour
Assistant store manager 14 salaries reported	$21.81 per hour
Gérant 14 salaries reported	$19.57 per hour
Store manager 9 salaries reported	$26.24 per hour
Sales associate 10 salaries reported	$17.32 per hour

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